Author: Whitfield

In the final stages of production the preparations made by myself and Anthony, the Stage Manager, were of the upmost importance to contribute towards creating a seamless and professional show. It was our responsibility to make sure all technical elements of When you see it were ready for performance day.

One of the integral features of the production were the images of the cast projected throughout. (They can be found in the gallery section of this blog.) These were realistic representations of the central characters lives along with visual aids for the audience during the ‘Selfie Song’. The images were taken and edited by myself and imputed into videos and into QLab by Anthony. As these images were so important to the piece the composition and location of the pictures were scouted out by myself and Laura and the costume was sourced by Amy to give the most realistic image possible. The filters on these images were also carefully designed to provide context, mood and age to the photographs. It was then decided in the technical rehearsal that the set plan should be redesigned and the TV for the photographs removed in favour for the large projector screen. This decision was made as the photographs were only shown for a brief amount of time but we felt it was important that the audience should see them clearly.

In addition to the photographs, I prepared the Show Information, Audience warning signs and Zing TV presentation for the front of house. As Seabright points out, “The relationship between the producer and venue is the backbone of every production” so my relationship with the Front of House team at the Lincoln Performing Arts Centre was very important (2009, 92). Three days prior to the performance I liaised with the Front of House manager, Holly, and met the Duty Manager responsible on the evening of our performance, Adam, to discuss the final details of our production. I checked that they were happy to display our company branded signs, warning the audience of the bright lighting and paper planes, and display the presentation about our show on the Zing TV screens. At this meeting arrangements for this information when the Café opened was made and it was agreed that they were happy to display all our information.

On the night of the performance my responsibility was Assisting Anthony and managing the sound desk. This was something I found challenging as it was a new experience for me and with our extensive use of live voice and instruments it was very important the levels were correct throughout the show: “Sound has the ability to direct and reinforce the audience’s emotional response to the action on stage” (Palmer, 2000, 167). In the dress rehearsals I took advice from one of the resident technicians at LPAC, Shellie, who then allowed me to operate the sound individually in the actual performance. During the technical rehearsal and dress rehearsals the actors brought it to our attention that at times it was hard to hear the sound through the on stage monitors so it was important that I turned the music up for them at these times to make sure the timing of their singing and choreography remained correct.

As the Production Manager of When you see it and Refract Theatre Company I am very proud of what we achieved. Our piece was directly reflective of our manifesto and mission statement, we brought the events that happened on a global scale to a personal level and created characters that the audience engaged with. As a company we worked seamlessly and created a piece we felt was truly reflective of the work we felt was important.

When you see it was described as a production that had a “beautifully judged tone, a lovely concept, an excellently staged production” (Andy Jordan, Senior Lecturer, Lincoln University).

Works Cited

Palmer, S. (2000) Essential guide to Stage Management Lighting and Sound. Bookpoint Ltd: Abingdon.

Seabright, J. (2010) So you want to be a Theatre Producer? Nick Hern Books Limited: London.

One of the most useful roles I have taken on throughout the course of rehearsals is that of the outside eye. As I am responsible for overseeing the project on a more administrative basis I am not involved in practical rehearsals on a regular basis and therefore do not follow the development of the piece in detail.

At fixed points throughout the process Laura and I set dates for the cast to show me the piece for feedback. This allows me, as more of an audience member rather than member of the company, to provide feedback to the Director and Cast on movement, script and transitions. The feedback I provide is then used to develop the work further.

It goes without saying that the more people to provide feedback the more the piece will benefit after all “the presence of an audience is central to the definition of theatre” (Freshwater, 2009, 1). In Refract we are very lucky to have three members of the production team who are not performing, two of whom make up the Directorial team, who can provide regular feedback on the piece. We also have a close relationship with another theatre company, Forefront,   who we were lucky enough to share our work with whilst it was still in the development process. Again, we found their feedback very useful and took their comments on board in the final stages of rehearsals.

This feedback has helped strengthen our piece and provided it with clarity and detail.

Work Cited

Freshwater, H. (2009) Theatre & Audience. Palgrave Macmillan:Basingstoke.

“The producer’s role can appear confusing and indefinable” (Seabright, 2010, 5)

As Seabright highlights, the role of a Producer varies with different companies and projects. It is from his definition and my own experience working with Chapterhouse Theatre Company that I will discuss the ‘traditional’ role of a Producer and which aspects of this definition I will also be taking responsibility for.

Traditionally, the producer of a theatre company would be the person responsible for choosing a play, hiring the company (including all office staff) and sourcing a venue. The Producer would be the top authority on all matters and decisions would always pass through them. In my experience, Producers will often attend work-in-progress sessions to give feedback and make sure the Company branding and creative vision is coherent.

Our Company differs slightly from the traditional model of a theatre company in the sense that the roles were decided after the full company came together. As a result my role as the Producer differs slightly as I have not hired the team or needed to source a Venue. However, similarly to a traditional company I am the final authority on decisions and responsible for schedules, admin work, budgeting. My role will become more of a Producer/Production Manager taking a hands on approach with the Company. Additionally, because the Venue is fixed we, as a Company, must create our work taking into consideration the demographics of the audience who attend the Venue and adapt our marketing strategies to suit the audience.

Seabright explains that with productions which are of a smaller scale the Producer and production Manager often end up being the same person and “take day-to-day control of certain areas of the budget and work closely with the design team to ensure that the creative vision of the show can be delivered onstage” (Seabright, 2010, 8). Therefore communication with all departments is key to create a successful Company and Project. As a result, I will be attending all production meetings and discussing the progress and development of our piece with the Director. Perhaps the most important role of a producer is “maintaining a view of the ‘big picture’ at all times of production“ (Seabright, 2010, 12).

Works Cited

Seabright, J. (2010). So you want to be a Theatre Producer? London: Nick Hern Books.

The name of our company was something we spent a long time deciding and discussing. We eventually agreed upon the name ‘Refract Theatre Company’. We feel this name directly correlates with what we, as a Theatre Company, intend to achieve through our work: we want to provide alternative perspectives for our audience to consider. Additionally, during the early discussions, we decided to focus upon the idea of true image, perceptions and memory through the medium of photographs. We intend to use both personal and famous images as a stimulus for our piece ‘When you see it’.

In my role as Producer I am in charge of the scheduling and monitoring of the different departments making sure they are all on target and the Company is working cooperatively as a team. As Robert Cohen describes, in my role I am the “final authority” (Cohen, 2010, 54) so communication with the Company is essential in order to monitor all decisions. Each Sunday I post a schedule for the upcoming week detailing the activities and targets to be achieved.

This is the first time in a creative process at University that I have not worked in a collaborative production in which I have performed. I am very much enjoying watching the practical rehearsals and seeing the powerful and dynamic work created by our cast. Additionally, in a week’s time I will also be watching the first scene created by our Directors and Company.

This week we also launched our Twitter and Facebook to engage and update our audience on the progress of our piece. Social media is a valuable tool for many companies and it “can play in building a long-term, meaningful relationship with the audience” (Peter, 2010, 19). This is an important method of marketing to reach our target audience and the whole company is involved in boosting our online presence. “That level of control and that ability to coordinate your message across several media platforms is a profound technological breakthrough for theatre companies” (Peter, 2010, 19).

Works Cited

Cohen, R. (2010) Working together in Theatre: Collaboration and Leadership. United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan.

Peter, R. (2010) Social Media Marketing Takes Center Stage. Southern Theatre. 51 (4) 8-19